The Way of the Center

"When did Ann rush over here!?"

"Beautiful block, my God! Now even if you are outside the three-second zone, you can't escape Ann's clutches!"

"Wonderful! I'm not talking about Owen's excellence, but Ann's volleyball cap!"

For a while, the focus of the world once again changed from "Uncle Drew" to the Dark Knight of Portland.

After landing, Owen looked in front of him with a little astonishment. And behind him, Paul George has picked up the basketball and completed the fast break.

The Celtics were extremely careful, and in the end they were turned into a conversion offense by the Trail Blazers. It wasn't a mistake that caused the Celtics to lose points, but Anjie's terrifying defensive coverage.

People are still thinking about how this guy, An Jie, suddenly appeared and completed the block. Celtics coach Brad Stevens has discovered some clues. It seems that the switch defense between Anjie and Morris is not a coincidence.

Failure is not terrible, you have to get up from where you fall. After being blocked by Anjie, Owen was not discouraged. He did not believe that Anjie would be able to reach the mid-range position in time to complete the defense every time.

When Irving was advancing with the ball, Brad Stevens took a special look at Anjie's defensive position. Sure enough, this guy still formed a mismatch with Marcus Morris. In this way, Angie will be closer to the middle distance, and Horford, who is under the basket, will be defended by Andrew Morris.

In this way, Anjie and Morris' defense switch is a defensive strategy that Ricard has set up long ago! Ricard's purpose is not to strengthen the inside defense, but to strengthen the defense against Irving!

It's really worthy of being an old Jianghu, and it's really worthy of being the two-time best coach winner. Ricard seems to be making changes to the inside line, but he is actually making arrangements for Owen. Stevens had to admire that in addition to the players in this game, his opponent as a young coach was also very tough.

But Stevens saw that Rickard's arrangement was useless, and Owen had to see the clues too. Before Stevens had time to remind, Irving broke through again with the basketball.

This time, Irving's jumper is still excellent, and Anjie's defense is as fast as ever.

After being mentally prepared, Irving was not directly blocked by Anjie, but in order to escape the bad luck of being blocked, Irving had to increase the shooting arc.

The result of this is that the basketball Irving threw hit the neck of the basket abruptly and failed to hit!

"Did you see it? Anjie's supplementary defense once again made Owen's offense stalemate! Coach Ricard's tactics were very successful,

He used an unreasonable method to solve Owen's problem. We should say that because Anjie is an unreasonable player, coach Ricard's unreasonable method will work. "Mike Breen's analysis is very vivid. If it weren't for Anjie, Ricard's bold arrangement would not have been successful.

After stopping the Celtics again, Lillard set up Paul George for a 3-pointer. The point difference was widened in an instant, and Brad Stevens had to call a timeout first.

"Did you see Kyrie, Ann's positioning is different from the first quarter! The switch between him and Morris is not to target the inside, but to target you! So, Marcus, I need You press into a deeper position later, take Anjie away, and make room for Kyrie! Also, Hayward, you have to be more active. Help Kyrie share the scoring pressure, I need everyone to play more Blooming performance!" Stevens seized the time to draw the tactical board, and now the Celtics are 7 points behind. If the point difference continues to expand, it will be a very dangerous thing for the Celtics.

He knows that the Trail Blazers are the most difficult team in the league to chase points. If you want to change the trend, you must react as soon as possible!

"Next, Brad will definitely let Marcus Morris back, or directly replace. But Ann, I want you to continue to estimate the position of the middle distance! The three-second zone, leave it to the "big bull" Deal with it!" Ricard knew that Stevens had seen through his strategy, but he didn't want to be led by the nose by his opponent.

Continue to target Irving, as long as they continue to target Irving, the Celtics will lose their direction.

The timeout ended quickly, and players from both sides reappeared. At this critical moment, the coaches of the two teams did not make substitutions and adjustments, and they were still using the strongest lineup to fight each other.

Marcus Morris, a power forward with a good shot, gave up his range advantage, and suddenly pressed near the three-second zone. In order to make room for Irving, Al Horford also pressed as deep as possible.

In this way, both Angie and Morris will be attracted to the basket. Then what is left for Irving and Hayward will be a blockbuster slot!

What Stevens and Owen didn't expect was that Anjie was not close to Marcus Morris, but two steps away from Morris. From this point of view, Anjie seems to want to continue to defend against the middle distance.

"Just put Morris on the basket like this!?" Seeing such a defensive position, Stevens was dumbfounded. Surely Anjie wouldn't make such a low-level mistake?

Owen naturally also saw the problem with Anjie's defensive positioning, so he hit the ground and passed, the basketball passed the palms of Lillard and Anjie, and bounced back into the hands of Marcus Morris.

In the Celtics' starting lineup, Marcus Morris is likely to be the last attacking option. But at this moment, Morris would not be polite!

He jumps up and shoots directly after receiving the basketball. Morris will definitely not miss this kind of close-range jumper that is close to the basket, unless...

Marcus had just lifted the basketball over his head when another Morris, wearing a home white jersey, suddenly appeared and leaped high. An Jie's brilliance may completely cover up "Big Bull", but don't forget, this guy is also one of the league's top defenders!

Both Marcus and Horford are very close to the basket, which instead gives Morris a chance to defend both of them at once.

In the end, Marcus Morris' shot was severely rejected by "Big Bull".

In the past, as long as they bypassed Anjie's defense, it was often equivalent to bypassing the Blazers' last line of defense. But now, the Trail Blazers' line of defense is not only Anjie.

Such an opportunity destined to score was suddenly wiped out by the "Big Bull". The appearance of a block is enough to make Paul George and Damian Lillard run wild.

Without an advantage in speed and height, the Celtics were once again scored by the Blazers with a conversion attack.

But now, Stevens knows. The really terrible thing about the Trail Blazers is not their lightning-fast conversion offense, but their impenetrable defense!

An Anjie is enough to cause headaches on the defensive end. Adding Andrew Morris now will make other teams helpless.

After that, Irving began to seek opportunities on Hayward. Although Haywood's running was indeed tossing the aging Iguodala enough, although Hayward's two three-pointers once ignited the hopes of Celtics fans.

But the performance of this handsome white striker was not enough for the Celtics to completely reverse the situation.

After being tied up on the defensive end, the marshal Stevens tried many methods, but in the end they all failed.

In the past, people have focused on the terrifying offensive ability of the Trail Blazers starting five. But in today's game, Anjie and his teammates undoubtedly told the entire league. Defense is also one of the strengths of this Trail Blazers team!

After the first half of the game, the Celtics still did not escape the bad luck of being widened to 10 points.

44 to 55, although Irving scored 15 points in the half, although Hayward also scored 13 points. But the Celtics' shooting rate of only 32% is the best explanation for why they are behind.

In the second half of the game, the Celtics let Horford serve as the main attack point for a period of time. In this way, Morris can no longer worry about Marcus, but he can eat Horford to death.

When Morris was left unattended, Angie had to withdraw from the mid-range. In a circle, Stevens finally gave Irving his chance again.

But at this moment, Lillard, who has been annoyed, is no longer so easy to break through...

Irving's performance has picked up again, but it's just a pick-up, not a complete explosion.

Hayward is still working hard, but under the defense of Iguodala, Hayward can get fewer and fewer opportunities.

Under the Trail Blazers' chain defense, the Celtics were almost suffocated. Conversely, the Celtics' defense did not cause too much trouble for the Trail Blazers.

An Jie and Paul George came to block them, and the water came to cover them. No matter how defended, these two super scorers can tear a gap from it.

In the end, when the game was about to end with 1.5 minutes left, Brad Stevens took the unwilling Irving off the court.

As the last starting player in the game, the moment Irving stepped off the field also represented that this nationally broadcast game officially entered garbage time.

Mike Breen was a little disappointed. He thought this game would be very exciting and intense, but he didn't know that this situation only lasted for one and a half quarters.

But at the same time, Mike Breen was also a little excited. He didn't expect that the Blazers' defense would be as good as their offense.

Maybe, this Trail Blazers team will become the most powerful NBA team in history?

Can attack and defend, can be fast or slow, can run and jump... Such an all-round team, Mike Breen really can't figure out what opponent can surpass it.

"You know, man, I feel like an unprecedentedly strong team is about to be born." Finally, Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy shared the experience brought about by this excitement.

For Torn City, this is bound to be an extraordinary season!